Shell coil winding machine



March 17, 1964 J. A. KLINGENSMITH ETAL 3,125,133

SHELL con. WINDING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 30. 1961 lNVENTORS John A. Klingensmith and Sydney L. Gale. a

Herbert W Spe|ght ATTORNEY March 17, 1964 J. A. KLINGENSMITH ETAL SHELL COIL. WINDING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 30. 1961 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 SHELL COIL WINDING MACHINE J. A. KLINGENSMITH ETAL March 17, 1964 Filed Marh 50. 1961 March 1964 J. A. KLINGENSMITH ETAL 3,125,133

J. A. KLINGENSMITH ETAL 3,125,133

March- 17, 1964 SHELL COIL WINDING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 30. 1961 Iil 8 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 March 17, 1964 J. A. KLINGENSMITH ETAL SHELL con. WINDING MACHINE Filed March 30. 1961 March 17, 1964 J. A. KLINGENSMITH ETAL 3,125,133

swam. con. WINDING MACHINE.

Filed March 50. 1961 v 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Fig. ll.

March 17, 1964 J. A. KLENGENSMITH ETAL 3,125,133

SHELL con. WINDING MACHINE Filed March 30. 1961 ts-Sheet 8 I TRANSMISSION |+U/|0TOR SHELL COIL WINDING MACHINE John A. Klingensmith, Muncie, Ind., Herbert W. Speight, Sharpsville, Pa., and Sydney L. Gale, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 99,564 7 Claims. (Cl. 14092.2)

This invention relates to ooil winding apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for winding pancake coils. A pancake coil is one in which the wire is wound in a fiat spiral with each succeeding turn being further from the coil center than the preceding turn. The wire may be one or more strands in width (axially of the coil), and one or more strands in height (radially of the coil).

Apparatus and techniques heretofore employed in connection with the winding of large size pancake coils for electrical transformers, involved the use of amandrel form consisting of a large rectangular center block bolted to 'a winding table on which the coil is wound with frequent stopping and pounding by the operator to flatten the coil, which when completely wound, is removed 'to a pressing table where it is pressed and shaped to size with more pounding by the operator. While the coil is being wound, the wire is held in tension between a pair of blocks clamped on the wire and secured to the end of a rope anchored to the floor. Back-bend to the wire was provided by manually twisting the tension blocks. Besides the lack of product uniformity because of variations in human operators, the above practices and equipment required a new mandrel center block for each order.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for winding pancake coils from multi-strand wire furnished by a wire supply source includes: a rotating winding table with adjustable mandrel elements and a removable grid-like lifting fixture over which the pancake coil is formed, and with which the coil may be removed from the table; a tensioner, interposed in the path of the wire from the wire supply source to the winding table, for applying individual drag to each of a plurality of strands by passing each strand between a pair of shoes, each of which has therearouncl a movable endless belt, which belts are frictionally engaged by the strand and are dragged along with the moving strand; and a backbender interposed in the path of the wire between the tensioner and the winding table, and which includes guides that maintain the parallel strands in side by side order to form a flat bundle, whose edge is in forced engagement with back-bending rolls that are parallel to each other and are at right angles to the plane of the wire bundle, thus to impart a bend to the bundlein its flat plane in a direction contrary to the direction in which the bundle is bent as it is wound into the coil around the mandrel elements.

The adjustable mandrel elements provide any one of a plurality of sizes for windingcoils of dilferent sizes, thus eliminating the need for different sizes of center blocks and the incidental work of layout, drilling, handling, etc., of the center blocks and table.

The various above-mentioned elements of the apparatus combine to produce more uniform coils at a great economical advantage.

The invention is especially suitable for winding coils out of rectangular cable having-a plurality of insulated rectangular strands each of the order of inch thick or greater. 7

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a more efficient apparatus for winding pancake coils.

Another objectis to provide apparatus which winds pancake coils uniformly without the necessity of many United States Patent "ice manual operations on and adjustments of the wire as it is wound into a coil.

Another object is to provide apparatus for winding pancake coils which eliminates the need for frequent pounding and other manual shaping during the coil forming operation.

A further object is to provide apparatus for winding uniform pancake coils having a minimum of wire aberrations.

A still further object of the invention is an apparatus for economically winding pancake coils.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a pancake coil winding apparatus embodying the invention;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are respectively front and side elevations of the tensioner in the system of FIGURE 1, parts being broken away in both figures;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a part of the tensioner of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 5, a detail of the arrangement for locking the tensioner on the rails, is taken along line V--V of FIG. 2;

FIGURES 6 and 7 are detail views of one pair of the belted shoes;

FIGURE 8 is a detail taken alongline VIII--VIII of FIG. 2;

FIGURES 9, 10 and I l are respectively front, side, and top views of the back bender in the system of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of the winding table in the system of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic view of the motorized drive coupled to the winding table;

FIGURE 14 is a detail of the panel locking mechanism on table 10; and

FIGURE 15 is a top view of the winding table showing the clamping arrangement applied to a coil after winding completion.

The apparatus in FIG. 1 includes a motor driven rotatable winding table 10 on which is being wound a pancake coil 12 from a multi-strand cable 14, whose individual strands are supplied by reels 16 on the reel rack 18. On its way to the winding table the cable 14 passes through a tensioner 20 and a back-bender 22 in that order.

Although not restricted thereto, the cable 14 is shown as having six parallel, insulated, rectangular strands, provided by six supply reels. The strands of the cable'are side by side, in consecutive order radially within each turn of the coil, and consecutive coil turns are radially one on top another. Those strands which will be radially outermost and innermost within a coil turn when the cable is found into a coil, shall be referred to as the outer and inner strands respectively. The term plane of the cable shall refer to that plane of the cable which is coincident with the plane of the coil when the cable becomes part of the coil.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tensioner 20 includes a hollow base 30 having rotatably attached thereto, four Wheels 32 that ride on rails 40 and 42 fixed to ties 43, which rails are across the direction of wire flow through the tensioner. The rails are U-shaped in cross section, and the wheels ride between the legs of the U, being in engagement with only one leg of the U at any given time depending on whether there is a downward or an upward thrust on a particular wheel at the time. The cone-shaped rims of the wheels reduce the lateral play, while upward thrust on the machine is held to a narrow range because of the small clearance between the wheel rim and the top leg of a rail when the wheel is resting s19 on the lower leg of the rail. The base 36 is driven along the rails in either direction by means of a lead screw 44, driven by an electric motor 46, and threadedly engaging a follower nut 47 attached to the bottom of base 30. The base 30 may be locked at any position along the rails by forcing a shoe 48 (FIG. against rail 49 in response to downward movement of a manually operated cam lever 49, pivoted around a pin attached to the base 31 If needed, a similar locking mechanism may be provided on the other side of base 31). It will be appreciated that the screw 44 and nut 47 arrangement is irreversible and functions as a locking mechanism.

The operative elements of the tensioner, such as the belted shoes, etc., are mounted on a vertically adjustable pedestal 50, slidably fitted within a well formed in base 30 by end walls 51 and 52 and inner guide walls 53 and 54. The pedestal is carried by the base 31 through a height adjustment mechanism, including jackscrews 55 and 56, rotatably based in base 30, and threaded into the base 57 of the pedestal 50. For vertical adjustment of the pedestal, the jackscrews 55 and 56 are driven by worm gear trains 58 and 60 coupled to a shaft 62, journaled in end walls 51 and 52, and equipped with a handwheel 64 for manual rotation in either direction.

Secured to the top of pedestal St) is a horizontal slideway 70, on which are slidably keyed six pairs, A, B, C, D, E and F, of shoes (one pair for each strand of the cable 14) disposed side by side along the slideway. The slideway has a beveled edge to engage a corresponding contour in the keyways of the shoes in order to hook and hold the shoes. The shoes of pair A are indicated at 72 and 73, those of pair B are indicated at 74 and 75, and those of pair C at 76 and 77. All the shoes being similar, only pair B will be described in detail (FIGS. 6 and 7). Each shoe has in the base thereof a keyway (FIG. 6) having an outline corresponding to, but somewhat wider than the cross-sectional shape of the slideway 70. The relationship of the keyway to the slideway is such as to firmly seat the shoes on the slideway in response to pull in the direction of wire flow, while also permitting easy addition and removal of shoes to and from the slideway to accommodate cables with different numbers of strands.

Each shoe has therearound a movable endless belt and a polished face for backing the belt. The back of each shoe, that is, the side opposite the polished face, is channeled to provide free movement of the belt when the back of the shoe abuts anything. The polished faces of shoes 74 and 75 are respectively indicated at 89 and 82, and the belts around these shoes are indicated at 84 and S5. The channel in the back of shoe 7% is defined by channel sides 86 and 87, while that in the back of shoe 75 is defined by sides 88 and 89. The manner in which the channeled backs provide freedom for the belts may be observed by looking at shoes 75 and 76 which, although back-to-back, do not bind thebelts. The fit on the belt on the shoe is loose enough to allow free movement of the belt around the shoe. The polished faces of the shoes in each pair confront each other, whereby outer portions of the belts of each pair of shoes mutually face each other for the reception of wire therebetween. Each strand of the six strand cable 14 is shown passing between a different pair of shoes, for example, a strand 90 is shown between shoes 74 and 75. Although six pairs of belted shoes are shown in the stack, a greater or lesser number of pairs of shoes may be employed, depending on the number of strands in the cable.

At the left end (FIG. 2) of the row of adjacent pairs of shoes is an abutment 92, secured to the top of pedestal 50, and engaging the back of shoe 72. At the other end of the row of shoes is a platen 94 slidably keyed to the sideway 70, and driven by the piston rod 96 of an air cylinder 98. The stroke of the air cylinder is parallel to the slideway 7tl, thus to squeeze the stack of shoes between the abutment 92 and the platen 94 when compressed air is supplied to the right hand side of the air cylinder. This applies compressive force across all the pairs of sheos whereby the strands of wire between the respective pairs of belts are frictionally engaged by the belts and drag is imparted to the wire strands. Considering any particular pair of shoes, the wire strand therebetween drags the belts engaged thereby in the direction of wire flow. The movement of the belts across the polished faces of the shoes provides a smooth drag and prevents avulsion of the wire insulation. The belts may be made of any suitable flexible material such as fabric, plastic, etc. Fabric woven of nylon gave excellent results.

The air cylinder 96 is fixed to an inverted U-shaped base 98 (FIG. 8) slidably mounted on the slideway 70, and lockable at any one of a plurality of positions along the slideway by means of a clamp element 101 (FIG. 7) which, when drawn up against the beveled edge of the slideway by a screw 1112, cooperates with the far side 1% of the base 98- to lock the base. Compressed air from a supply line 104 is selectively directed to either side of the cylinder 96 by a twoway valve 106 coupled to conduits 107 and 108 leading to opposite sides of the cylinder. Valve 1116 is also adjustable in order to control the amount of pressure supplied to the selected end of the cylinder, thus to control the amount of drag applied to the wire.

The pedestal 30 is equipped with a pair of horizontal, vertically spaced input guide rolls 110 and 112, and a pair of horizontal, vertically spaced exit guide rolls 114 and 116, the respective pains of rolls being located on opposite sides of the row of shoes. The mounting for each of the guide rolls is exactly the same at both ends of the rolls. For that reason, only the left end of the assembly (FIGS. 2 and 4) will be described in detail.

Guide roll 110 is rotatably mounted on a spindle fixed to the end of an arm 122, whose other end is pivoted around a pin 128 between parallel, upright frame elements 124 and 1l26 attached to the pedestal 50. Roll 114 is mounted in the same manner on an arm 130 which swings around a pin 132 carried by frame elements 124 and 126.

- Arms 122 and 130 are equipped with handles 134 and 136 'vertically adjustable yoke 150. Thus, arms142 is sliplinked to yoke 150, whereby when the yoke is raised, that end of arm 142 carrying spindle will be lowered, thus to lower roll 116. In a similar manner, roll 112 is mounted at the end of an arm 152 pivoted to frame elements 124 and 126 and slip-linked to the other end of yoke thus permitting vertical adjustment of roll 112.

Yoke 150 raised or lowered vertically by means of a screw engaging the threads of a threaded aperture 162 extending through the central portion of yoke 156). Opposite ends of the screw are journaled in a bracket 164 fixed to frame element 1124, and in a plate 166 attached to the pedestal 50. The screw is driven in either direction through a bevel gear arrangement 168- by a manually rotatable shaft 169, which extends across the width of pedestal 511 and through opposite sides thereof. Shaft 169 terminates in. a handwheel 170. The other ends of roll-s 112 and 116 are similarly mounted and vertically adjustable through similar screw and bevel gear arrange- Aslseen the detailed views of FIGS. 9, and 11, the back-bender 212 includes a wheeled base 3180 which rides on spaced parallel rails 18 2 and 184 secured to the floor plate 1|86. .Four wheels 188 are rotatably mounted on base 180 at the four corners thereof. These wheels ride on top of rails 182 and 184. Also rotatably mounted on base 180 are four wheels 190 having conical rims that engage beveled edges on the underside of rails 1'82 and 184, whereby wheels 190 cooperating with each other restrict lateral play, and in cooperation with wheels 188 restrict ventical play. Travel of the wheeled base 180 along the rails is restricted by bumpers 192, 194, 1196 and 198, located at opposite ends of the respective rails. Base 180 may be locked at any position along the rails by a manual cam lock .199 coupled to a rod 200, which pulls up a clamping shoe 20 1 against the bottom of rail 182 when the cam lock is operated into position shown. The rod 200 passes through guide apertures in a bracket 202 and a top plate 203 of the base 180, against which plate the Lock cam operates. If desired, a duplicate locking mechanism may be installed on the opposite end of the base 180 to lock on rail 184.

Fixed to the top of base 180 are a pair of spaced parallel rails 206 and 208 at right angles to rails 182 and 184. Riding on rails 206 and 208 is a carriage 210, also provided with four pairs of wheels at its four corners which engage rails 206 and 208 in the same manner asdo the Wheels of base 180 with respect to rails 182 and 184. More specifically, four wheels 212 rotatably mounted on the carriage at its four corners, engage the tops of rails 206 and 208. Also rotatably mounted at the four corners of base 210, are four wheels 214 having conical rims which engage beveled lower edges on rails 206 and 208. The wheels cooperate with each other to restrict both lateral and vertical play of the carriage with respect to the rails. Travel along rails 206 and 208 by carriage 210 is limited by bumpers 216, 218, 220 and 222. Carriage 210 may be locked at any desirable position along rails 206 and 208, by a clamping mechanism including a manual cam lever 226 linked to a pull rod 228 attached to a clamping shoe 230. Rod 228 which passes through a guide aperture in a bracket 232 attached to carriage 210, extends vertically through an aperture in a plate 234 which forms the top of carriage 210. The top of rod 228 is linked to the handle 226, which, when rotated about the pivot linking it to rod 228, rocks its cam surface against the top surface of plate 234, thereby to raise rod 228, .and lock the shoe 230 against the underside of rail 206. Lever 226 is locked in position when it is driven overcenter.

On top of plate 234 there is mounted a circular swivel plate 240 which swivels about and is retained by a. spindle 241 fixed to plate 234 and extending vertically therefrom. The plate 240 rides on ball bearings 242 nested in corresponding mutually facing annular grooves 244 and 246, formed respectively in the bottom of plate 240 and the top of plate 234. The swivel plate 240 may be locked in any angular position by a cam lock, which includes a manual lever 250 pivoted at the upper end of a stud 252 secured in the plate 234. The lever 250 has an overcenter cam, and when the lever is depressed the cam surface forces a. locking plate 254 against the swivel plate 240 thereby to lock the latter.

Extending vertically upward from the top of plate 240 and integral therewith are a pair of frame members 256 and 258, in which a horizontal shaft 260 is rotatably journaled. Fixed to shaft 260 for rotation therewith is a platform 262, which may be tilted around the axis of the shaft, and locked at any desirable angle by means of a worm wheel segment 264, fixed to shaft 260 and the underside of platform 262, and driven by a worm 265 on a shaft 266, which in turn is manually rotatable by a hand wheel 267. Shaft 266, which is journalled in end plates 268 and 269 attached to frame members 256 and 258 may be locked by a split collar clamp 270, fixed to end plate 268.

Mounted on top of platform 262 are the operative components of the back-bender. These include three rotatable back-bending rolls 271, 272 and 273, a pair of entry guide elements 274 and 275, and a pair of exit guide elements 276 and 277. Rolls 271, 272 and 273 are rotatably mounted on spindles 278, 279 and 280, and in U-mernbers 281, 282 and 283, respectively. Each assembly of roll, spindle and U-members is bolted to the platform 262 by means of a nut on the threaded end of the spindle which passes through an aperture in the plate 262. The apertures 284 and 285, through which spindles 279 and 28.0 extend, are elongated to allow adjustment of these spindles within the plane of platform 262, thereby to adjust the radius of the are which intersects the axes of the three rolls. To adjust the position of rolls 274 and 276, the nuts at the ends of their spindles are loosened, and the spindles with their associated rolls and U-members are moved to the desired position along the respective slots 284 and 285, after which the spindle nuts are tightened to clamp the U-members 282 and 283 in position. To protect insulation and to prevent wire distortion, the periphery of each back-bending roll is preferably covered with a thin layer of resilient material, for example rubber.

Guide bars 274 and 275 are mounted one above the other on two studs 286 and 287 which pass through apertures in bar 275, and through end slots in bar 274, and are secured in an upright position to the platform 262. Studs 286 and 287 are threaded to accept nuts 288 and 289 employed to force the upper bar 275 toward the lower bar, whereby wire strands are snugly received between the bars and frictionally engaged thereby as the wire strands are drawn therethrough. The receiving edges of guide bars 274 and 275 are rounded to provide a smooth entry of the wire strands between the guide bars. The barsmay be made of any suitable material that will not melt from frictional heat, and will not wear to a sharp edge. Hardwood, such as maple, was found to give excellent results.

Guide bars 276 and 277, and their mountings, are in all respects similar to guide bars 274 and 275. All the guide bars are crosswise of the direction of wire flow through the back-bender. The six parallel strands of wire passing through the back-bender are shown maintained by the guide bars in side-by-side order to form a fiat cable, one strand in width (axially of coil) and six strands high (radially of coil), having one edge in forced engagement with the back-bending rolls, with the plane of the cable substantially at right angles to the axes of the rolls. The outer strand of the cable is forced into engagement with the back-bending rolls, thereby to impart a bend to the cable in its flat plane, in a direction contrary to the direction in which the cable is bent as it is wound into a coil around the mandrel elements.

The Winding table 10 (FIGS. 12 and 14) is rotated in a horizontal plane by means of a motorized drive coupled to the table and enclosed in the housing 300 below the table. The table is mounted on a large hub 302 (FIG. 14) secured to the top of a vertical output shaft 304 of the drive, which may include a transmission 306 coupled to a motor 308. In a particular example, the speed range of the drive and table was as 0-20 rpm.

The winding table 10 has secured to the-top thereof a metal plate 309, on which there is disposed a removable grid-like lifting frame 310, having a plurality of bays or windows defined by oriss-crossed elements of the frame pattern, and through which windows, extend removable panels locked to the table top. The frame 31.0 includes a center section 312 connected to parallel side sections 314 and 316 by lateral sections 31-8, 320, 322, 324, 326, 328, 330', 332, 6'34, 336, 338, 340, 342 and 344, to form the mid pattern. Lateral sections located on opposite sides of the center section 3 12, and in line with each other, may be considered as a single cross member. For example, ila-teral sections 324 and 33 8 are in line with each other, and may be considered as a single cross member. Frame sections 314 and 316 are made of flat lstnips. Each of the other frame sections has a hollow rectangular cross section with the top side slotted along the length of the section. Preferably, the sections of the lifting frame are made of metal.

Each window of the lifting frame is coincident with a panel position on the winding table in which position a removable panel may be locked. For example, one panel position is within the window defined by frame sections 312, 316, 346 and 342.

There being two rows of windows in the lifting frame 310, there are also two rows of panel positions. .One row of panel positions is as being occupied by panels 343, 350, 352, 353, 354 and 356, each removably locked to the table. The other row is occupied by panels 353, 360, 362, 364, 366 and 368, each removably locked to the table. The spaces between the panels form a countersunk grid pattern corresponding to that of the lifting frame 3'10. Thus the frame is located and received within the countersunk grid pattern spaces between the panels. Additionally the frame 310 is located by vertically extending locating pins 369 fixed to the plate 369, and received in locating holes in the bottom of frame section 312 of the lifting frames 310. 7 All the panels are interchangeable, each being lockable in any one of the panel positions. Each panel has attached to the bottom thereof two parallel, spaced apart, U-seotion channel members, with their channels facing each other across the bottom of the panel. For example, panel 366 has attached to the bottom thereof channel members 370 and 372.

The locking mechanism at each panel position on the table is the same and only one need be described in detail. Consider for example the panel position defined by frame sections 312, 316, 346 and 342, and occupied by a panel 366 (FIGS. 12 and 13). A pair of spaced, parallel, rails 374 and 376 are secured to the plate 369, each having a plurality of headed stud pins 378 extending vertically thereof and spaced along the length thereof. These pins extend loosely through apertures in a pair of locking plates 380 and 382, the heads of the pins being larger than the apertures through which they extend. The locking plates are arranged to lock around the stud heads as fulcrums in response to cam action provided by a movable cam bar 384 with inclined cam surfaces 386 and 38 8 (FIG. 13) that cooperates respectively with cam follower elements 390 and 392 fixed to plates 380 and 382, respectively, and extending downward from the undersides of the plates. The cam bar is movable in either direction along its length and is restricted laterally between guide elements 334 secured to the plate 309.

When the cam bar 384 is pushed toward the center of the table, the reaction of the cam follower elements 396 and 392 raises the inner edges of plates 380* and 382, tending to rotate the plates around the stud pin heads as fulcrurn's. This, in turn, causes flanged outer edges 3% and 398 of plates 3'80 and 382, respectively, to move downward and engage and clamp the lower sides of channel members 370 and 372 to the plate 369, thus clamping whatever panel is in that position to the table. To release or unlock the panel, the cam bar is moved in the direction away from the center section 312, causing the cam follower elements to move downward along the cam surfaces, thereby raising the outer flanged edges of the locking plates 370 and 372, and releasing the panel.

surfaces and followers along the cam bar 334 are not visible.

As hereinbefore stated, all the panels are ing terchangeable and are lockable in any one of the 12 panel positions.

Since they are merely to fill space, panels 348, 352, '353, 356, 356, 362, 364 and 368 may be referred to as filler panels. On the other hand, panels 359, 354, 366 and 360 are not only space fillers, but also carry adjustable mandrel posts 400, 402, 404, and 466, respectively. Each mandrel post is adjust-ably secured to its associated panel by means of a bolt 416 which passes through the post and through a slot 412 formed in the panel surface. The head of the bolt is on the underside of the panel and is wider than the slot 412 so that a nut 414, at the upper end of the bolt may be tightened to lock the post, and loosened to unlock the post. To prevent the bolt 410 from turning, the underside of the bolt head has a square shoulder which extends into the slot 412 to engage the walls thereof.

In addition to adjustment along the slot 412, the position of each post 406 is also adjustable along a line at a right angle to slot 412 and parallel to the lateral frame sections, by unlocking and moving the post-carrying panel toward or away from the center frame section 312. (In order to do this, the panels carrying the mandrel posts are made short enough to allow adjustability of position within the plane of the table and toward and away from the center section 312 of the lifting frame. Thus, the panel, while unlocked, can be moved to any desired position along the line of adjustment and then locked by driving the cam bar home. Since the post is adjustable along slot 412, and the panel on which the post is carried is adjustable along a line at right angles to the slot 412, the mandrel post 406 is adjustable within the plane of the table to any point defined by the coordinate axes of the slot 412 and the line of panel adjustment.

The tops of the panels and the top of the lifting frame 310 are on the same level and define the Winding surface of the table.

A washer 420, slipped over the mandrel post 406, lies on the panel surface with a height equal to the axial thickness of the coil being wound, which in this particular case is a thickness of one strand on the cable. There is mounted on each mandrel post a collar 422 having integral therewith an elongated guide member 424 with a bottom guide surface 426 that faces the top surface of the lifting frame 310. The collar 422 is locked in any desired position on post by a cam lock 428 that is forced against the post by a manual lever 430. When winding a coil, the collar and guide are locked in position at the level of the top of washer 420, thus providing a space, between the guide surface 426 and the top surface of the lifting frame 314 that is, just large enough to snugly accommodate the thickness of the cable. An upturned toe 432 is provided at the end of the guide element to allow easier entry for the cable. Guide element 424 is also provided with a vertical adjustment screw 434, which bears against the panel, for making slight changes in the guide spacing after the guide and collar have been locked in position, and for firmly clamping the coil against the table top.

When all the mandrel posts are locked in position, their locationvdetermines the inner geometry and size of the coil. The ability to transpose the panels, and the adjustability of the positions of the mandrel posts within the plane of the table, permit the posts to collectively be locked in any one of a multitude of positions respectively defining a number of geometric patterns and sizes. For

example, the particular position of the posts in FIG. 12

defines a rectangular winding form of a particular size corresponding to the inner geometry of a coil which can be wound. The winding table may be adjusted to provide a winding form for a much larger coil window size by transposing: panels 348 and 350; panels 354 and 356; panels 358 and 360; and panels 366 and 368. The window size can be increased in the other direction by moving panels 356, 354, 360 and 366 towards the sides of the table. On the other hand, if a smaller coil window size than that shown in FIG. 12 is desired, the table may be adjusted by transposing: panels 350 and 352; panels 353 and 354; panels 360 and 362; and panels. 364 and 366. In a particular practical example, the adjustability of the table accommodated coil window sizes ranging from x 25 inches to 50 x 100 inches.

To aid in maintaining the shape of rectangular coils, inner guide bars 440 and 442 are laid against blocks 444, each of which is movable and lockable in position along a lateral section of the liftingframe 310. Each of these blocks is locked by a bolt that passes through the block and extends through the slot in the top surface of the lateral frame section. For example, one of the blocks 444 is shown locked in position. along lateral frame section 324 whose top surface is provided with a slot 446, through which the bolt 448 extends into the-hollow of section 324, and engages a nut that is wider than the slot. Guide bar 440 is aligned with the washers 420 associated with posts 400 and 402, while guide bar 442 is aligned with the Washers 42.0 associated with the mandrel posts 406 and 404.

To provide a start for a coil to be wound, the cable 14, which has been threaded through the tensioner and the back bender, is clamped against the center section 312 of the lifting frame 310 by a clamping block 450 that is locked in place by a manually operated cam lock 452, which pulls up a headed rod 453 that extends through block 450 and the slot ,454 in the upper surface of the center frame section 312. In order to prevent the cable 14 from catching on the outer ends of the lateral frame elements while the coil is being Wound, guard rails 456 and 458 are laid across the outer ends of the lateral sections of the lifting frame 310. These bars are held in place by springs 460 hooked to the bars and the table.

Although the guide bar 424 associated with mandrel post 406 is shown in exploded position in FIG. 12 for illustrative purposes, it will be appreciated that during the winding of a coil all such guide members are clamped to their respective mandrel posts in positions such as shown at the other mandrel posts in the figure.

In FIG. 12, only the start of a coil is shown. However, the coil being wound in FIG. 1 is shown with a number .of completed turns.

During the winding operation, the rotation of the table 10 pulls the. cable 14 through the tensioner and the back bender. Sufficient pull and tension are applied to keep the cable strands taut, thus to impart the necessary back bend, and to lay the first turn of the cable snugly around the coil form defined by the washers 420 and the guide bars 440 and 442, and each radially succeeding turn of the cable snugly against the preceding turn. As the coil is being wound, the cable 14 is snugly received between the bottom guide surfaces of the guide elements 424 and the top surface of the lifting frame 310. The guide elements prevent cross-over and force the winding into a uniform flat spiral. The degree of back bend imparted to the cable is a function of the cable tension and the position of the back bender rolls, which define the angle between the path of the cable extending from the back bender to the tensioner and the path of the cable extending from the back bender to the winding table. It was found that an angle of about 150 between these paths gave excellent results.

After the coil is wound, the guard rails 456 and 458 are removed from the sides of the lifting frame 310, and the coil is clamped and shaped to size by means of clamp blocks 462 (FIG. 15), which are locked in position against bars 464 laid against the outside turn of the coil in the same manner that blocks 444 are locked against bars 440 and 442. Thus, one side of the coil is clamped between bars 440 and 464, while the opposite coil side is clamped between bars 442 and 466. Next the outer end of the coil is cut loose from the cable 14, and the guide elements 424 are unlocked and removed from their associated mandrel posts. Then the lifting frame 310,

with the coil thereon, is lifted from the winding table 10 and removed to other processing stations. For example, the frame and coil may be baked allowing impregnated compounds in the inner insulation to run. After cooling, the coil is self-supporting, and it is removed from the lifting frame. For lifting convenience, blocks similar to blocks 444 may be provided with lifting eyes and locked to the extremities of the lifting frame 310 so that crane hooks received in the lifting eyes will lift the frame straight up while maintaining the frame in a horizontal plane.

We claim as our invention:

1. Apparatus for winding pancake conducting coils to be disposed on a transformer magnetic core from multistrand cable, said apparatus comprising a multi-spool supply source from which said multi-starand cable is supplied with one wire strand of said cable being supplied by each spool of said source, a winding table rotatable about an axis normal to the plane of the table, a plurality of mandrel elements secured to the table top, means for adjusting the positions of the respective mandrel elements along the plane of the table top to any one of a plurality of positions to form bounds of a winding form, a flat removable lifting frame on said table top, said frame including a plurality of sections forming a grid pattern defining a plurality of windows, said mandrel elements extending through windows of the frame whereby when a coil is wound around said mandrel elements the coil is formed fiat on the lifting frame which may be removed from the table with the coil after the coil is wound, a tension device interposed between the winding table and the source of Wire strands for applyinga drag to the strands, said tension device comprising a plurality of pairs of shoes, each having a movable endless belt therearound, the belts of each pair of shoes facing each other to receive a wire strand therebetween, and means for forcing the shoes of each pair toward each other whereby wire strands passing between the shoes are frictionally engaged by the belts to apply drag to the strands, and a back-bender interposed between the tension device and the winding table for applying a reverse bend to the cable relative to the bend applied to the cable as it is wound around the winding form, said back-bender comprising a rotatable bending roll, and guide means fore and aft of the bending roll along the line of cable flow for constraining strands of the cable in side by side order in the flat plane of the cable and for guiding the cable into edgewise engagement with the roll, said fiat plane of the cable being that plane which will lie within the plane of the coil when the cable is part of the .coil.

2. Apparatus for winding pancake conducting coils to be disposed on a transformer magnetic core from multistrand cable, said apparatus comprising a multi-spool supply source from which said multi-strand cable is supplied with one wire strand of said cable being supplied by each spool of said source, a winding table rotatable about an axis normal to the table top, said winding table comprising, a fiat removable lifting frame lying flat on said table, said frame including a plurality of criss-crossing elements forming a grid pattern and defining a plurality of windows, a plurality of panels removably secured to the topof the table within windows of the frame, a post normal to the table top carried by each of said panels, said posts forming corners of a winding mandrel, means for adjusting the positions of said posts along the plane of the table top to provide bounds of a geometric configuration corresponding to the inner form of a desired coil configunation, each panel being positionable within any one of a plurality of said windows, a tension device interposed between the table and the source of wire for imparting drag 'to the wire, and a back-bender interposed between the tension device and the table for bending the wire in a direction contrary to the direction that the wire is bent when it is around the mandrel.

3. Apparatus for winding pancake coils from wire sup plied by a source, said apparatus comprising a multi-spool supply source from which said multi-strand cable is supplied with one wire strand of said cable being supplied by each spool of said source, a winding table rotatable about an axis normal to the table top, said winding table comprising, a flat removable lifting frame lying flat on said table, said frame comprising a plurality of criss-crossing elements forming a grid pattern and defining a plurality of windows, first and second pluralities of panels removably secured to the top of the table within windows of the frame, a post normal to the table top carried by each of said first plurality of panels, said posts forming corners of a winding mandrel, means for adjusting the positions of said posts along the plane of the table top to provide bounds of a geometric configuration corresponding to the inner form of a desired coil configuration, the position of each panel of the first plurality being interchangeable with the position of each panel of the second plurality, a tension device interposed between the table and the wire source for imparting drag to the wire, and a back-bender interposed between the tension device and the table for bending the wire in a direction contrary to the direction that the wire is bent when it is wound around the mandrel.

4. Apparatus for winding pancake coils from wire supplied by a source, said apparatus comprising a multi-spool supply source from which said multi-strand cable is supplied with one wire strand of said cable being supplied by each spool of said source, a winding table rotatable about an axis normal to the table top, said winding table comprising, a fiat removable lifting frame lying flat on said table, said frame comprising a plurality of criss-crossing elements forming a grid pattern and defining a plurality of windows, first and second pluralities of panels removably secured to the top of the table within windows of the frame, a post normal to the table top carried by each of said first plurality of panels, said posts forming corners of a winding mandrel, means for adjusting the positions of said posts along the plane of the table top to provide bounds of a geometric configuration corresponding to the imier form of a desired coil configuration, and a guide member removably secured to each of said posts, each of said guide members having a guide surface facing the table top and spaced from the lifting frame to snugly accommodate the wire being formed into the coil, the position of each panel of the first plurality being interchangeable with the position of each panel of the second plurality, a tension device interposed between the table and the wire source for imparting a drag to the wire, and a back-bender interposed between the tension device and the table for bending the wire in a direction contrary to the direction the wire is bent when it is wound around the mandrel.

5. Apparatus for winding pancake coils from wire supplied by a source, said apparatus comprising a multi-spool supply source from which said multi-strand cable is supplied with one wire strand of said cable being supplied by each spool of said source, a winding table rotatable about an axis normal to the table top, said winding table comprising, a fiat removable lifting frame lying flat on said table, said frame comprising a plurality of criss-crossing elements forming a grid pattern and defining a plurality of windows, first and second pluralities of panels removably secured to the top of the table within windows of the frame, a post normal to the table top carried by each of said first plurality of panels, said posts forming corners of a winding mandrel, means for adjusting the positions of said posts along the plane of the table top to provide bounds of a geometric configuration corresponding to the inner form of a desired coil configuration, the position of each panel of the first plurality being interchangeable with the position of each panel of the second plurality, a tension device interposed between the wire source and the table for imparting a drag to the wire, said tension device comprising a pair of shoes relatively movable toward and away from each other, each shoe having therearonnd a movable endless belt and a surface backing the belt, said surfaces of the respective shoes facing each other whereby wire passing between said shoes is frictionally engaged by said belts when the shoes are forced toward each other, means for forcing said shoes toward each other, and a back-bender interposed between the tension device and the table for bending the wire in a direction contrary to the direction in which the wire is bent when it is wound around the mandrel.

6. Apparatus for winding pancake coils from wire supplied by a source, said apparatus comprising a multi-spool supply source from which said multi-strand cable is supplied with one wire strand of said cable being supplied by each spool of said source, a winding table rotatable about an axis normal to the table top, said winding table comprising, a flat removable lifting frame lying fiat on said table, said frame comprising a plurality of criss-crossing elements forming a grid patternand defining a plurality of windows, first and second pluralities of panels removably secured to the top of the table within windows of the frame, a post normal tothe table top carried by each of said first plurality of panels, said posts forming corners of a winding mandrel, means for adjusting the positions of said posts along the plane of the table top to provide bounds of a geometric configuration corresponding to the inner form of a desired coil configuration, and a guide member removably secured to each of said posts, each of said guide members having a guide surface facing the table top and spaced from the lifting frame to snugly accommodate the wire being formed into the coil, the position or" each panel of the first plurality being interchangeable with the position of each panel of the second plurality, a tension device interposed between the wire source and the table for imparting a drag to the wire, said tension device comprising a pair of shoes relatively movable toward and away from each other, each shoe having therearonnd a movable endless belt and a surface backing the belt, said surfaces of the respective shoes facing each other whereby wire passing between said shoes is frictionally engaged by said belts when the shoes are forced toward each other, means for forcing said shoes toward each other, and a rotatable back-bending roll interposed between the tension device and the table for bending the wire in a direction contrary to the direction that it is bent when wound around said mandrel.

7. Apparatus for winding pancake coils from multistrand cable whose wire strands are supplied by a source, said apparatus comprising a multi-spool supply source from which said multi-strand cable is supplied with one wire strand of said cable being supplied by each spool of said source, a winding table rotatable about an axis normal to the table top, said winding table comprising, a flat removable lifting frame lying flat on said table, said frame comprising a plurality of criss-crossing elements forming a grid pattern and defining a plurality of windows, first and second pluralities of panels removably secured to the top of the table within windows of the frame, a post normal to the table top carried by each of said first plurality of panels, said posts forming corners of a winding mandrel, means for adjusting the positions of said posts along the plane of the table top to provide bounds of a geometric configuration corresponding to the inner form of a desired coil configuration, the position of each panel of the first plurality being interchangeable with the position of each panel of the second plurality, a tension device disposed between the table and the wire supply source for imparting a drag to the wire, said tension device comprising a plurality of pairs of shoes, one pair for each strand of the cable, the shoes of each pair being relatively movable toward and away from each other, each shoe having therearonnd a movable endless belt and a surface backing the belt, said surfaces of the respective shoes within each pair facing each other whereby wire strand passing between the shoes is frictionally engaged by said belts when the shoes are forced toward each other, means for 13 forcing the shoes of each pair toward each other, and a back-bender interposed between the tension device and the table for bending the cable in a direction contrary to the direction it is bent when it is wound around the mandrel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 733,233 Lundskog July 7, 1903 14 Clark Feb. 24, 1914 Thacker Oct. 8, 1929 Brenner Ian. 6, 1931 Herbest Mar. 27, 1934 Schultz July 13, 1943 Burge et a1 Nov. 27, 1951 Moore Aug. 29, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS France Nov. 2, 1955 

1. APPARATUS FOR WINDING PANCAKE CONDUCTING COILS TO BE DISPOSED ON A TRANSFORMER MAGNETIC CORE FROM MULTISTRAND CABLE, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A MULTI-SPOOL SUPPLY SOURCE FROM WHICH SAID MULTI-STARAND CABLE IS SUPPLIED WITH ONE WIRE STRAND OF SAID CABLE BEING SUPPLIED BY EACH SPOOL OF SAID SOURCE, A WINDING TABLE ROTATABLE ABOUT AN AXIS NORMAL TO THE PLANE OF THE TABLE, A PLURALITY OF MANDREL ELEMENTS SECURED TO THE TABLE TOP, MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE POSITIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE MANDREL ELEMENTS ALONG THE PLANE OF THE TABLE TOP TO ANY ONE OF A PLURALITY OF POSITIONS TO FORM BOUNDS OF A WINDING FORM, A FLAT REMOVABLE LIFTING FRAME ON SAID TABLE TOP, SAID FRAME INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SECTIONS FORMING A GRID PATTERN DEFINING A PLURALITY OF WINDOWS, SAID MANDREL ELEMENTS EXTENDING THROUGH WINDOWS OF THE FRAME WHEREBY WHEN A COIL IS WOUND AROUND SAID MANDREL ELEMENTS THE COIL IS FORMED FLAT ON THE LIFTING FRAME WHICH MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE TABLE WITH THE COIL AFTER THE COIL IS WOUND, A TENSION DEVICE INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE WINDING TABLE AND THE SOURCE OF WIRE STRANDS FOR APPLYING A DRAG TO THE STRANDS, SAID TENSION DEVICE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF SHOES, EACH HAVING A MOVABLE ENDLESS BELT THEREAROUND, THE BELTS OF EACH PAIR OF SHOES FACING EACH OTHER TO RECEIVE A WIRE STRAND THEREBETWEEN, AND MEANS FOR FORCING THE SHOES OF EACH PAIR TOWARD EACH OTHER WHEREBY WIRE STRANDS PASSING BETWEEN THE SHOES ARE FRICTIONALLY ENGAGED BY THE BELTS TO APPLY DRAG TO THE STRANDS, AND A BACK-BENDER INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE TENSION DEVICE AND THE WINDING TABLE FOR APPLYING A REVERSE BEND TO THE CABLE RELATIVE TO THE BEND APPLIED TO THE CABLE AS IT IS WOUND AROUND THE WINDING FORM, SAID BACK-BENDER COMPRISING A ROTATABLE BENDING ROLL, AND GUIDE MEANS FORE AND AFT OF THE BENDING ROLL ALONG THE LINE OF CABLE FLOW FOR CONSTRAINING STRANDS OF THE CABLE IN SIDE BY SIDE ORDER IN THE FLAT PLANE OF THE CABLE AND FOR GUIDING THE CABLE INTO EDGEWISE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ROLL, SAID FLAT PLANE OF THE CABLE BEING THAT PLANE WHICH WILL LIE WITHIN THE PLANE OF THE COIL WHEN THE CABLE IS PART OF THE COIL. 